Ed Sheeran Announces New Album “X” & Preview Single “Sing”

Ed Sheeran covers the new issue of Billboard magazine and he’s spilling details on his long-awaited sophomore album.

The album will be released June 23 and is titled X (or “Multiply”)…get it? His first album was +. We kind of love this math theme. The first single from the album will be called “Sing” and you can get a sneak peek of it below. The song will premiere on UK radio on Monday.

HE KNEW HE’D SELL OUT HIS GARDEN PARTY. Ed sold out three nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City, a huge accomplishment for a solo singer-songwriter. How many people knew that selling out those shows – almost instantly – was a given? “I’ve got to be honest: I did,” he says. “But no one else did. That’s why I made them hold three [dates]… I know my fan base and I can tell when something is going well. And record sales didn’t mirror ticket sales.”

BUT HE’S ALREADY SET HIS SIGHTS HIGHER. Ed says that once a large majority of fans have seen his spare, guy-with-a-guitar acoustic show, he’ll “move on” to a bigger live sound. “I want to headline a stadium,” solo, he announces. (More on that on Monday!)

THE ‘WORST-DRESSED MALE OF 2012’ HAS CLEANED UP. “I’m coming around to dressing a bit better,” says Sheeran, who nearly wore a tuxedo-themed hoodie to this year’s Grammys. “I’ve just never really given a f- about what people are wearing, so I don’t know why people care about what I have on.”

HIS NEW ALBUM WILL HAVE HIS MOST CONFESSIONAL SONG TO DATE. Ed says he “could have gotten nastier” in the new song, a “100 percent true” story about an ex love. “If you date a songwriter, be prepared to have songs written about you.” (MUCH more on this in the full cover story!)

HE HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR ABOUT BEING A REDHEAD. “What is the one thing a ginger misses about partying?” Pause. “The invitation.” There’s a point to his self-deprecation, he says. “Gingers got properly sectioned [picked on] in schools. It’s that racism is totally unacceptable in England, but you’ve got to take the piss out of someone. It’s all right. We will take over the world.”